Age Differences in Stroop Interference in Working Memory

Working memory capacity can be conceptualized as the ability to use controlled attention in short term memory (Engle, Tuholski, Laughlin, & Conway, 1999 Engle, R. W., Tuholski, S. W., Laughlin, J. E. and Conway, A. R. A. 1999. Working memory, short-term memory, and general fluid intelligence: A latent-variable approach. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 128: 309–331. [CSA][CROSSREF][Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). We tested this idea in young and older adults by combining the task demands of two neuropsychological tests, word span, and Stroop color-naming. Young and older adults were asked to name the colors of a series of congruent and incongruent color-words (between 2 and 6 words/trial). After all the color-words were presented participants attempted to recall the colors in their serial order. This task required inhibition of the prepotent word reading response (i.e., color naming), with a concurrent memory load (caused by the need to maintain already named colors in short-term memory). Older adults showed greater interference effects, and these interference effects increased as a function of memory load. Regression analyses showed that measures of working memory capacity and executive function accounted for unique variance in incongruent color-word errors for older adults. Defining working memory capacity as the ability to use controlled attention in short-term memory may be a fruitful way to think about this concept in studies of executive function.